More Welfare for the Rich

[Undertoad]

Not correct. Sarbanes-Oxley created standards for the auditors. It did nothing to eliminate Enron style accounting in public companies.

Not correct. The auditors sign off on the accounting; that's how it works. SOX had many provisions which would have prevented Enron's particular style of accounting; and we can't compare AIG, because the Times story only alleges a problem, and doesn't describe it at all.

If PWC has concerns over the books, that is a very big deal, and that would be SOX in operation, preventing a problem from being hidden.

the current American administration did virtually nothing to require fiscal responsibility

SOX is absolutely, positively the current American administration doing something enormous to require fiscal responsibility. In fact it is felt in the accounting community that Europe has easier standards and that companies can save money by HQing there. Can people still create economic bubbles? Yeah, as always. I doubt one can come up with any set of rules that would prevent it and still look like the economic system that has made this the richest nation on the planet.